Gaza – Aamer Saeed al-Ramlawi, 45, was a father of five children, two daughters and three sons. He was loved by many, not least his cousin and best friend Hassan Youssef al-Ramlawi, 33.

Aamer also loved grilling and cooking, especially at the beach, which fit with his passion for seafood, especially crabs.

“Since my wife is an excellent fish cook, he always asked to have crab soup,” Hassan told Al Jazeera with a small smile.

“Before October 7, we spent most of our time together; Hanging out every Thursday night, grilling, playing cards and talking every other day. It was beautiful,” Hassan told Al Jazeera about life before the war broke out in Gaza.

Aamer the phenomenon

“Aamer was full of life…his spirit was unmatched, full of happiness and love. He constantly organized excursions, although entertainment in Gaza was already restricted before October 7 due to the Israeli blockade of Gaza,” Hassan said.

“He was the nursing director at al-Sorani Clinic, and whenever someone called him for help, he would rush to them, even when we were hanging out together.

“He always had chocolate in his pocket for the kids and took lots of photos every time we went somewhere. His biggest fear was losing someone he loved, and he constantly prayed that everyone would stay safe.”

On October 15, about a week after Israel’s assault on Gaza began, Hassan and his family decided to heed veiled Israeli threats and move from “planned operations” in Gaza City, where they lived.

“Aamer and his family refused to leave. I called him every day to check on him. The idea that he might not respond to one of my calls was frightening as his area was under increasing attacks,” Hassan said, adding that he last saw Aamer on the day he left the north.

Shocking news

On October 25, Hassan was at his uncle’s home in Deir el-Balah after a harrowing journey from Gaza City.

As he searched the Internet for news about what was happening in the rest of the Gaza Strip, he was astonished to see a photo of his 24-year-old cousin Doaa with the caption that she had been pulled from the rubble after an Israeli raid on her home in al-Taj 3 buildings hit in Gaza. Aamer lived in the same building

He showed the picture to everyone around him and everyone agreed that it was Doaa who had survived. Hassan frantically started calling Aamer and checking every online platform he could find to see if there was any news about his cousin.

“I called and there was no answer. I could neither accept nor imagine the thought of Aamer and his family being killed. “They were moments of pure devastation,” he recalled sadly. “His nieces and nephews were injured but there was no news about Aamer, nightmares tore through my brain that night.”

Dangerous journey back to Gaza City

The next morning, Hassan decided to return to Gaza City to find out what had happened to his cousin.

“At that time there were no military ground operations. It was certainly life-threatening, but I had to do it because he was literally my other half,” he said.

The 20-minute drive from Deir el-Balah to Gaza City took him about three hours, but when he arrived he rushed to the building to find it completely flattened.

“Civil defense forces were still pulling bodies out from under the rubble. I saw half a body wedged between the pillars of the destroyed building walls. I wondered if it was him.

“I went to al-Shifa Hospital where I met his brothers and asked them. They didn’t know if he had been killed – they just knew he was under the rubble.”

Without any information, Hassan made his way back to Deir el-Balah, frustrated and scared.

That evening, he received a call from another cousin telling him that Aamer had been killed.

“The moment he informed me of his murder, a tape of our shared memories started playing in my head.

“I looked at myself in the mirror, eyes full of tears, an exhausted body with a breaking voice and a pale face without a trace of a smile.

“He wasn’t just my cousin; He was my brother, my friend and my soulmate.”

Amidst his grief over Aamer’s death, Hassan also becomes painfully aware that the places where he spent time with his cousin have also been destroyed.

“Israel didn’t even give me the opportunity to remember the destruction of these places. However, I will keep our memories in a special box in my mind.”